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I've always been a fan of JD Black and consumed same until a couple of years ago. I've now switched to Evan Williams Black which is similar and much less expensive.

I have several friends that enjoy Bourbons like Knob Creek etc. for the nuances but I just can't get into them. I guess I need a bourbon that grabs you but the throat and says "There's nothing better than me".

I was driving a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville this last Monday here in wintery Ontario and the right front tire blew out while doing 55MPH after I hit a minor bump in the frost heaved pavement. After changing it and checking the other 3 is when I noticed they were all cracked in the sidewalls. Called a flatbed and had her towed

Last edited by avanti-hawk; 04-19-2018 at 02:49 PM.
Reason: to add picture

The born on date of manufacture is posted on the tire wall. Seven years is the max when it comes to safety. If there's no born on date on the tire you should have chucked it years ago. Better safe than sorry. I change my tires on all my vehicles every five years no matter how good they seen to appear.

6 years ago I spent over $1000.00 for some great looking Diamond back tires. Now after 600 miles on them I'm supposed to throw them away because they make them out of such crappy material??? If I were to do that, the cost per mile for these tires would be $1.67.

If that truly is the case then we should all go on line and buy the cheapest tires we can find or go to Walmart and find a $50.00 tire. So lets all save money and forget about appearance. We're CASO​s so can we all really afford to do this?

If that truly is the case then we should all go on line and buy the cheapest tires we can find or go to Walmart and find a $50.00 tire. So lets all save money and forget about appearance. We're CASO​s so can we all really afford to do this?

Cheap tires? That's what I've been using for the past 30 years. Wal*Mart, Discount tire, whatever is cheapest. I've never had a tire failure, They turn and stop like any other tires, and last as many miles.

Regardless of the advertising hoopla, tires are low tech things made of rubber and cord. No secrets there.

6 years ago I spent over $1000.00 for some great looking Diamond back tires. Now after 600 miles on them I'm supposed to throw them away because they make them out of such crappy material??? If I were to do that, the cost per mile for these tires would be $1.67.

I know this is an older post, but I got about 200 miles out of brand new looking tires from the 80's before they started to separate. I found a non Studebaker p/u that was built in the early 70's, driven about 10k and stored. Sometime in the 80's (by the DOT number on the tires) it got new tires, then stored again. I found it, bought it, got it running and stopping again and then well drove it.....a lot. Then one time cruising around I had shimmy that was getting worse, pulled into a parking lot and heard the air escaping......luckily I just put in a jack and spare tire.

Saturday went to Discount Tires to have the wheels with tires already mounted put back on the Highlander. These wheels have been sitting in the warehouse for the last 4 years & if I had to guess, there were maybe 5,000 miles on this set. DT wouldn't mount them because they were mfgd in 2006. They won't touch any tire that's 10 years old.

"Every man I meet on the street is superior to me in some respect, and from that I can learn."
R.W. Emerson

Roy....I had a full set of Pirelli P400 tires on my Avanti for 16 years......yes I was STUPID..... actual driving after those 16 years was about 10K miles.....it occurred to me that I continue to drive on highways at 60-70mph.....I then said off they come before I am laid to rest......the tires looked brand new no cracks in the side wall......I gave them to a kid in the shop telling him to toss em.

Originally Posted by RadioRoy

All this latest concern about age of tires has me... concerned. So it turns out that every tire on every car I have is more than 5 years old, some more that 12 years old. Some even older than that, but those are on cars that are not being driven.

What is the failure mode of aged tires? I drive my 60 Lark at 65 or so and my 99 Honda Accord at 75-80. I never (almost never) hit potholes and my tires stay balanced for 60 thousand miles at least on the Honda. That's how easy I am on tires.

I'm starting to get nervous about freeway driving, even in the Honda.

How will the tires fail? When will they fail? There are 45 thousand miles on them now, but I have to check the date code. Will one of them suddenly deflate? Will they burst and splatter me against an SUV or a guard rail? Will they start to go out of balance? Will they just get slow leaks?

I'll bet he didn't toss them. That's prime fodder for the used tire shops, where do you think their stock comes from?

IMO much of the retail tire industry is perpetuating a hoax. There have obviously been tire failures that have led to law suites, but the retail tire industry has used it to sell more tires.

The tipping point in my case came, when in preparing one of our cars for a several thousand mile trip, my nephew and I installed some new ball joints. Jon is the best mechanic I know, so when he said that he thought that the alignment specks were about right, I took him at his word. Mary had recently put new tires on the front of the car, and for the thousand miles or so, that I had driven the car, things had been fine. Four thousand miles later, one of the tires had developed a serious wear pattern, which was going to require replacement. I took the car back to Les Schwab, where she had bought the tires, for an identical replacement tire. They refused to replace just one tire, even though the second tire was just fine. They said that it was company policy to replace both tires on the same axle. No matter what I said they stood their ground. I was simply was not going to pay for a tire that I didn't need! Upshot I went to a used tire shop, replaced the warn tire for $40. After a front end alignment, I was able to get 50K+ miles out of those two tires. A real attitude changer for me!

You guys are lucky , Go to the Indiana Whiskey company and try their Bourbons also try their honey flavored whiskey its good sippin . They are on Sample st in So. Bend , They also give discounts to Vets . I can't buy it here in Jersey but get some when in So Bend , Ed

I recently bought a 66 Pontiac Grande Parisienne (Canadian only model) that had been sitting for several years. It has 14' radial Goodrich tires. The third time driving it one of them let go with the tread flying to pieces. Too much weight for 14' wheels and old age are too blame here.

I recently bought a 66 Pontiac Grande Parisienne (Canadian only model) that had been sitting for several years. It has 14' radial Goodrich tires. The third time driving it one of them let go with the tread flying to pieces. Too much weight for 14' wheels and old age are too blame here.

I do not believe that weight had anything to do with it, assuming that the tires were the correct size for the car (some pretty heavy/large cars used 14 inch wheels as standard equipment). I believe that the tires just died of old age.

I do not believe that weight had anything to do with it, assuming that the tires were the correct size for the car (some pretty heavy/large cars used 14 inch wheels as standard equipment). I believe that the tires just died of old age.

I do not believe that weight had anything to do with it, assuming that the tires were the correct size for the car (some pretty heavy/large cars used 14 inch wheels as standard equipment). I believe that the tires just died of old age.

Yes old age is the prime factor here. But bear with me, I do recall vividly the amount of blow outs, and failures I experienced back in the day of those tiny 14's.
Mostly on full size GM & Ford's. I take full responsibility for driving too hard and fast over rough roads, RR tracks and high speed cornering in junk cars back in the 70's. Maybe I've gotten far too cosy with 18 to 20 inch wheels on my Dodge Chargers and monster heavy Escalade with no such occurences.

Yes old age is the prime factor here. But bear with me, I do recall vividly the amount of blow outs, and failures I experienced back in the day of those tiny 14's.
Mostly on full size GM & Ford's. I take full responsibility for driving too hard and fast over rough roads, RR tracks and high speed cornering in junk cars back in the 70's. Maybe I've gotten far too cosy with 18 to 20 inch wheels on my Dodge Chargers and monster heavy Escalade with no such occurences.

When you say "...I experienced back in the day of those tiny 14's.", I was thinking of the late 1950s and 1960s when I drove a lot of new and late model cars with 14 inch wheels very hard and at high speeds (excess of 100 mph). I do not recall one blow out. Then you speak of; "...junk cars back in the 70's." Those wheels/tires were probably well worn out and aged at that time. Last you refer to; "...18 to 20 inch wheels...". These must be on new or nearly new cars (and SUV/truck chassis). These are not valid comparisons. Also, throw in the advances in tires/wheels/suspensions in the past 60 years.

Speaking of big cars, I never had a problem with the 14 inch wheels & 225x70's on my big block '66 VIP.
No hubcap walk, no nuthin!

This may make sense as the leverage to bend a 14'' wheel will be greater than a 15'' . I have a car with 14'' bias ply white walls that look great still have good tread and have no cracks. Now this might get some comments but makes a statement as to how long some bias plies will last because they have been on the car since 1968, so they are 50 years old. Next time I get the car out I'll check the brand.

This may make sense as the leverage to bend a 14'' wheel will be greater than a 15'' . I have a car with 14'' bias ply white walls that look great still have good tread and have no cracks. Now this might get some comments but makes a statement as to how long some bias plies will last because they have been on the car since 1968, so they are 50 years old. Next time I get the car out I'll check the brand.

The life cycle of bias ply versus steel belted radial is like apples and oranges.

The life cycle of bias ply versus steel belted radial is like apples and oranges.

You got that right. It makes a person think we should keep using Bia plies on these low milage cars. They don't lose wheel covers, last a lot longer, and don't flex the wheels plus they are authentic. On this car if we followed the formula for radial tire life (6 years) there would have been 8 sets of like new tires discarded during this time.

When you say "...I experienced back in the day of those tiny 14's.", I was thinking of the late 1950s and 1960s when I drove a lot of new and late model cars with 14 inch wheels very hard and at high speeds (excess of 100 mph). I do not recall one blow out. Then you speak of; "...junk cars back in the 70's." Those wheels/tires were probably well worn out and aged at that time. Last you refer to; "...18 to 20 inch wheels...". These must be on new or nearly new cars (and SUV/truck chassis). These are not valid comparisons. Also, throw in the advances in tires/wheels/suspensions in the past 60 years.

Ok, I had used cars in the early 70's,mostly late 50's, all 60's and a few early 70's. Not new. Lucky for you that you never had a blow out. Yes the cars with 18'-20' are modern cars. The point of my post was my observance of far less tire problems now vs. 1970's. I do drive quite a few old cars (50+) and age is a problem for tires. But so are other factors.
Irregardless to what I post you seem to find fault, so I'll refrain in the future from commenting.

Don't be discouraged by diverging comments. We all have our experiences and opinions. The purpose of a forum is to allow everybody to comment. We can all learn from each other even if we disagree on why things might happen. The truth usually becomes apparent after we all discuss it for a few days!